Somehow I missed the news about California being granted bank holding company status. California Treasurer, Bill Lockyer, is petitioning the Treasury for a bailout. From MarketWatch: California Treasurer Bill Lockyer asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday to authorize assistance for his state from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program, warning that depressed tax […]
Archive for May 13th, 2009
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Chinese Conundrums
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 13th, 2009
Industrial production in China wasn’t up to snuff in April but GM has some plans to help boost the numbers. The government released statistics today (treat all government statistics from China with some skepticism) that showed factory output rising 7.3% from last April but that was less than the 8.3% growth recorded in March. Combined […]
Treasury Proposes Derivatives Regulation
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 13th, 2009
Well it’s only been what eleven years since Long Term Credit almost brought down the financial system and the world was introduced to the word “derivatives.” They were a brand new concept back then and appeared to take the entire financial system, or at least the regulatory arm of that system, by surprise. A few […]
How The Administration Is Spinning The Employment Data
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 13th, 2009
CNBC is reporting that the Obama administration, apparently Joe Biden was the spokesman, is out with a claim that its stimulus plan has created or saved 150,000 jobs so far. Given the continuing glum news on employment you may be wondering how this could be so. The answer is simple. It’s pure spin. Here’s how […]
William Seidman R.I.P
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 13th, 2009
Bill Seidman one of the true giants of of American business has passed away. He was an accomplished businessman, public servant and journalist. I will miss him and his honest assessment of current events.
Intel Gets A Big European Fine
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 13th, 2009
In a fairly long post yesterday, I wrote about antitrust policy and touched on the Intel situation with the European Commission. They announced their findings with regard to Intel’s alleged anti-competitive behavior today, so here’s a quick follow-up. The commission fined Intel $1.45 billion and summed up its findings thusly: In blunt words, the EU’s […]
No Green Shoots In These Numbers
Posted by Tom Lindmark on May 13th, 2009
The green shoots are looking like they need water. Foreclosures surged in April, tax revenues cratered, California is close to going toes up and retail sales did an about face. Well recovery doesn’t always proceed in a straight line, does it. Retail sales for April were down 0.4% from March and the figures for March […]
